<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Salvation by orphan_account</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26700361">Salvation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Snowbound Blood, Vast Error</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I know you're waiting with your pitchforks and torches so let me justify, POV Second Person, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Pale kisses, although has it ever been canonically confirmed that she's a lesbian?, demiromantic lesbian secily iopara, he/him lesbian necron exmort, i am not looking to erase secily's identity, i'll err on the side of Yes, moirails who kiss, or - Freeform, post-volume 9 route 2, probably ooc secily, so a bit after cinare's route, whichever floats your boat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:35:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,332</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26700361</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Your name is NECRON EXMORT, and your good pal Secily feels more alone than ever. You seek to fix her up as best you can.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mentioned Mshiri Libeta &amp; Secily Iopara, Necron Exmort &amp; Secily Iopara</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Salvation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Dear Vast Error fandom: I am probably going to be capital C Crucified by anyone who reads this lmaooo im so sorry but I have a disease called "i can't help but see the potential pale chemistry between necron and secily in the canon material"</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She's broken. </p><p>She's broken and you want nothing more than to fix her.</p><p>Your name is NECRON EXMORT, and you're leaning on your beloved truck, waiting for your good pal Secily to turn up. She said she had some sort of meeting with that Executive guy, then she called you and told you she was about to swing by her moirail's place for a bit, and then ride home with you to discuss your next course of action as far as Noxious is concerned. </p><p>It's getting a little cold out, and you've unrolled your sleeves to cover your arms, yet you're still shivering. You regret picking out one of your worse-for-wear shirts today. Thankfully you don't have to stand around for long, as the purr of Secily's bike breaks the silence.</p><p>You'd agreed to meet in the parking lot of an abandoned IHOG (International Hive of Grubcakes) so you weren't accosted by any nosy bystanders. You smile and wave at her, but the usual pointed look she shoots you in return is replaced by just.. exhaustion. It's enough to give you pause, your mechanical hand still raised in greeting. </p><p>"You alright, Ses?" you ask gently as she brings her bike to a stop behind the truck. You've already lowered the hatch on the back of the cargo bed, thankfully avoiding any injury to your shins.</p><p>"I'm fine," she replies nonchalantly, lifting the bike by herself and securing it into the cargo. You whistle, impressed, and make a mental note to ask her for her workout routine later. As usual, you open the passenger door of the truck for her - you should really get that fixed at some stage - and circle around to your side to pull yourself into the driver’s seat.</p><p>By the time you’re all buckled up, you glance over to Secily, who’s resting her head against the window and gazing forlornly into the distance. It’s not unusual for her not to be very talkative on your drives, especially after meetings and such, but you still find yourself asking,</p><p>“Are you sure you’re alright? You seem kinda under the weather.” As you speak, you manage to turn on the ignition, and the truck purrs to life. </p><p>“I told you, I’m fine. It’s just been a tiring day.” she answers shortly. “I might get some sleep on the journey to Oricka’s.” </p><p>You know this is a quiet request to leave her alone, but something inside you aches, wants to make sure she’s alright. Besides, you can’t stand road trips full of awkward tension, and you doubt she’d appreciate it if you blasted out your tunes to fill the silence. You pull out onto the highway and cruise in one lane for a short while. It isn’t quite time for trolls to get up and go to work, so you pretty much have the roads all to yourself, besides a few stragglers who keep their distance.</p><p>Despite saying she’d catch some z’s, Secily doesn’t seem to have fallen asleep yet, and you’ve been going for quite a few miles. You clear your throat, just like she does to announce her presence, and she turns her head towards you, one eyebrow raised.<br/>
“You should really get some rest, you know. You work hard, wouldn’t want ya to keel over in the middle of the case.”</p><p>This earns you a short laugh, but not the kind of laugh you were hoping for. This laugh is bitter, humourless - the sort that makes your pusher cold with dread.</p><p>“It was thanks to my slacking off that Ahlina was allowed to die.” she said simply, settling back into her former position. Her gaze wanders over to that beloved photo of you and Oricka. The next words leave her in a near-snarl. “You’d better not stop protecting Oricka or I’ll fucking kill you.”</p><p>Her sudden hostile, serious tone makes you choke back a gasp and nearly swerve off the road. You take a deep breath as you steady your truck, slowly directing it over to the shoulder of the highway. Secily looks up as you bring the vehicle to a stop and turn off the engine. She doesn’t ask you why you stopped, but you can tell that the question is on her tongue.</p><p>“Alright,” your voice comes out firmer than you meant it to, and you barely manage to keep from cringing. “What’s the matter, Secily? What happened in that meeting? With Mshiri? Because even though you’re a stubborn sally I’ve never seen you like this before.”</p><p>Secily’s eyebrows raise, surprised that your joking patience with her has reached its limit. After a few moments she laughs again - an exhausted chuckle, devoid of malice this time. </p><p>“You’re such a fool, Necron.” she manages to snicker, before her mirth turns into misery, and her laughs turn into quiet, shoulder-shaking sobs. Her hand covers her eyes, but you can see the tear which runs down her left cheek.</p><p>“Secily..” You dither for a few moments before removing your seatbelt, sliding across to the middle seat of the truck. You don’t know if you’ll be allowed to touch her comfortingly - she’s always seemed to appreciate those little shoulder touches you give her to calm her down before, but you don’t know if things will be different in this situation. She has Mshiri, doesn’t she? Maybe she’d know what to do better than you. “Want me to ring Mshiri for you? I know we’re on the highway right now but she’d want to come and make sure you’re ok, right?”</p><p>“No,” she groans between sobs, and the situation makes itself a little clearer. Perhaps things didn’t go too well with her moirail, and she feels more alone than ever. Poor girl. You’d always thought of her as somewhat of a loner, but this made your pusher sink. Poor, poor Secily. You find yourself shuffling closer, resting one arm on the back of the seat as you lay your other hand on her arm.</p><p>To your surprise she grabs your shirt and pulls you closer, hiding her face against your shoulder as she heaves out a few more sobs. Perhaps she figured that you not being able to see her face would be less embarrassing. Regardless, you wrap your arms around her and rub her back. You can tell she’s needed this for a long time.</p><p>“I don’t know what to do.. I..” you hear her murmur weakly against your shoulder. It’s obvious that she’s cut herself off because she doesn’t know whether you’d want her to spill her heart out to you, like you were some sort of replacement moirail. You weave the fingers of your non-robotic hand in her hair and massage her scalp.</p><p>“It’s ok, sugar. Do you want me to try my hand at comfortin’ you? No matter how much you say you don’t want Mshiri here, I’d feel like shit if I left you to cry.”</p><p>Notably, you don’t feel her brow furrow or her nose wrinkle at the endearing name you give her. The only thing you feel is a warm sigh against your collarbone before she nods her head. Poor thing, trusting you so easily to fix her where she’s broken. Your gastrointestinal sac twists with pity, and you pet her hair. You run your claws along the buzzed part on her right side, and knead your fingertips against the base of her horn. She hums and gets comfortable, sniffling.</p><p>“Tell me what you want to get off your chest.” You find yourself speaking quieter than usual, but you don’t correct yourself. This just feels like the right thing to say, and the right way to say it.</p><p>"I don't know.. what to do." She speaks up after a pause. "I can't stay.. I can't leave.. sometimes I wish I'd never been reduplicated. I'm a burden."</p><p>"Shh sh sh.." you find yourself shooshing her before you can think, and she tenses against you. Shit. But before you can think about it too much, she tucks her face against the crook of your neck, and you feel her fingers cling to the back of your shirt. You continue talking. "I'm glad you were hatched. I'm glad you're here. With me."</p><p>She whines pitifully, like a wriggler being stepped on, and you pat her back. How long has it been since she's broken down like this? Surely she's able to show her emotions in front of Mshiri, right?</p><p>"Let's take things one at a time, okie doke? What happened with Mshiri?" You look at her and remember the time you'd confessed to her that you hadn't bonded with Oricka, back when you were about to fight those cultists. You wonder if you were as much of a mess. </p><p>"I don't think she loves me anymore." replies Secily, her tone hopeless. "She's moving away with her matesprit when the case is over. Far away. Too far." </p><p>The numb despair in her voice hits you like a punch to the gut, and you run your fingers through her hair. Was that the last time they'll see each other? It seems unfair of Mshiri to pack up and leave Secily in this state, but then again she surely wouldn't leave her moirail without knowing that someone else would look out for her, right? </p><p>Would you fill in that position?</p><p>You take a moment to look at the sniffling, battle-scarred troll in your arms - stronger and braver than you could ever hope to be - and you're filled with an overwhelming desire to keep her safe. You know that in her way, she wants to keep you safe too. You remember the time she stopped you from charging into battle too early, and the time she led you through that hedge maze safely.</p><p>Even her reprimands, her gentle scolding when you're not taking a situation seriously, is her way of protecting you. Knowing this fills you with warmth and a dull, yearning ache.</p><p>Yes, you think to yourself. You would fill in that position.</p><p>“It’s okay. You’re okay, I’ve got you now.” You find yourself murmuring into her hair, and she chokes out a sob, her fingers curling tighter into your shirt. “Poor Secily. I know you’ll miss her, but I can take you to see her sometimes if you want.”</p><p>“Will she even want to see me?” she asks in a whisper, and you nod gently.</p><p>“I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t want you to pay ‘em a visit. A personal visit, mind you.” you add, taking her occupation into consideration. “I sure as hell wouldn’t mind you visiting me. And I know Oricka loves when you drop by. ...Secily, won’t you quit your job and move in with us? Me and muffin have wanted it for a while. It doesn’t feel like home without you around.”</p><p>“Believe me, I tried quitting. I told the Executive I’d be handing in my resignation, but he..” her breath catches, and you feel warm tears against your skin. “He said that by quitting my job, I’d be destroying the last of Ahlina’s relevance.. He said she was holding me back, Necron. My own matesprit..!”</p><p>“The bastard said what?!” you grit your teeth, your grip around her tightening for a moment before you calm yourself down - not before you feel Secily’s hand cupping the other side of your neck soothingly. God, even in this state, she’s putting you before herself. You’re furious. The world - Corporate - has conditioned her to be like this. Made her a machine of battle, ruthless but subservient. Unable to put her needs before anybody else’s until her emotions reach boiling point. </p><p>You know that you and Oricka could give her a better life away from all this, without being ordered around like a fucking animal and told to hunt and kill. You imagine her relaxing as the three of you chat about weapons, or supervising Oricka’s little passion projects, or falling asleep with her in front of the TV after a hard day chasing down bad people on your own terms. You doubt she’s ever done anything on her own terms without the say-so of Corporate or that bastard Noxious. It’s at times like this that you don’t know which is the lesser of two evils.</p><p>You know you shouldn’t be thinking about this right now - you’ve got a troll to comfort after all. </p><p>“You’ll remember Ahlina, you know. And me and Oricka will remember her story, and what really happened.” You cup her cheek and stroke her cheekbone gently with your thumb. She purrs slightly and leans into your touch, though her eyes still water. “And don’t go saying you’re not good enough, or that you slacked off too much. You’re better than Corporate could ever hope to be. They’ll be lost without you, and they deserve it.”</p><p>“Don’t lie to me, Necron. I’m just another cog in the system. I’m no better than anyone else. You and Oricka are better for not ever falling victim to Corporate’s influence.” You feel her mumble against your neck.</p><p>“Look at me.”</p><p>“....”</p><p>“Look at me, Secily.”</p><p>This time, you place your finger under her chin and tip her head up so that she meets your eyes. Her eyes are teal-tinted from crying, and she looks mere seconds away from giving up on herself and sinking into despair. You take a deep breath and try to keep your voice steady as you speak your next words.</p><p>“I usually joke around, Ses. But believe me, I’m about to tell ya the honest truth. You're one of the best people I know. The bravest, the smartest. The fact that Corporate couldn't trust you to rescue your own matesprit proves how fucking incompetent they are.” Your brows furrow as you gaze intensely into her eyes. She doesn’t break the gaze, and you feel her arms unwrap from around you, only for her hands to gently grip the front of your shirt this time.</p><p>“That’s brazen, Necron. I have a moirail.” her tone is gentle yet numb, and you see a flush rising to her cheeks. You don’t doubt that your own cheeks are much the same. “But this helps. It really does.”</p><p>“I couldn’t leave you crying. I care too much.” You sigh gently. “I’m sure Mshiri didn’t mean to upset you. But I could see why you were. You deserve the world, Secily. I’m honoured to know ya.”</p><p>“Likewise. You’re an extraordinary person. You love Oricka so deeply..” </p><p>“She’s not the only one I love deeply.”</p><p>“Damn it, Necron.” she grumbles, her blush becoming more intense. By now, you’ve cupped both of her cheeks. You’re filled with an all-encompassing wave of pale. You wonder if she is too. As if to answer your question, she closes her eyes and murmurs, “Please tell me you want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you.”</p><p>You can’t help but blink in surprise. Pale kissing isn’t unusual, of course, especially given how many kisses she shared with Mshiri, but it still startles you how easily she opens up to you, who just paid her some positive attention. You’re overwhelmed with pity, and you nod. </p><p>“Yes. I’ve thought about kissing you before.”</p><p>She pauses and nods to herself a few times, as if trying to convince herself that what she just heard was real. When she looks back up at you, she has such an expression of yearning that it brings a lump to your throat. She pulls you closer by the shirt collar - your faces are so close now that you're breathing the same air. You so desperately want to close the gap, but you wait for her to take things at her own pace.</p><p>And finally, you kiss.</p><p>It's barely more than your lips brushing together and eyes fluttering shut as you share a breath, but it brings butterflies to the pit of your stomach. She pulls away after a few moments, and you only barely manage to keep from leaning after her.</p><p>"Thank you for tolerating me," she whispers, and you open your eyes with a few blinks.</p><p>"It's hardly toleratin' ya when I love having you around," you blush softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You deserve love. You deserve to be cared for. I got you now, ok?" </p><p>She sighs contentedly and leans against you, and after a few minutes you think she might have fallen asleep, but she speaks up again.</p><p>"Necron.. I'm lucky to have you." Her hand finds your organic one, and weaves your fingers together. You bring your hands up to your mouth and kiss each of her faintly-scarred knuckles. </p><p>"I'm just as lucky to have you. Remember that, ok?" Reluctantly, you move back to your own seat, not surprised in the slightest when she follows you to the middle seat. "Let's not make any big decisions today, ok? I'll take you back to Oricka's. Wrap you up nice and warm. Hold you in my arms. Then you can sleep it off for a bit."</p><p>Secily shivers against you at those words - the pale equivalent of dirty talk, you suppose - and nods against your shoulder as you fasten both your seatbelts again. </p><p>“Don’t tell anybody else you saw me like this,” she mumbles “except maybe Oricka. She’ll laugh but it won’t really matter.”</p><p>“She’ll understand,” you assure her, and with a few twists of the ignition, you’re back in action.</p><p>She doesn’t say much on the ride back to Oricka’s, but the tension which was so palpable earlier is no longer there, and you find yourself smiling as you get close to the coast, watching the suns rise over the obsidian edge of the depths. You park your truck as far as it will go onto the beach without putting it in immediate danger of getting crushed by garbage, and you hop out of the truck, turning your gaze towards Oricka’s cliff in the distance.</p><p>You circle around the truck again to pull Secily’s door open, and she slides out of the truck tiredly, barely able to hold herself up after all the emotions she’s been through today. She regards you exhaustedly, waiting to be led over the trash heaps. You can’t let her take such a journey in this state.</p><p>“Look, I know how much ya don’t like the whole chivalry act bein’ performed on you because you’re well capable of taking care of yourself, but do you really feel as if you can cross these dunes?” you gesture towards the beach, nose wrinkling as the smell of trash - fresh and rotten - wafts over to you. Secily wrinkles her nose too, crossing her arms and appearing to consider leaning against the truck. You know she wouldn’t want to get rust and dirt on her coat.</p><p>“I’ll be fine,” she begins, but with a sigh she shakes her head. Looks like now’s the time to pay her back for the time she guided you through this mess, bleeding and limping. You move closer, watching her expression and body language for any signs to back off, and you hook one arm under her knees and the other under her back, lifting her into your arms.</p><p>This is, of course, not the first time you’ve carried her. You gave her and that Valtel guy a firetroll’s lift out of that creepy estate, so this is nothing new. She dithers for a moment, probably deciding where to put her arms, before just giving up and letting them hang limp by her sides for now.</p><p>That works for you. You begin trudging along the beach, scaling each mountain of junk as it comes. It’s a lot more difficult now that you can’t see where you’re placing your feet, but you take your time to make sure you and Secily don’t go collapsing in a heap. The last thing you want to do is hurt her physically when she’s so emotionally wounded.</p><p>It’s a long, hard slog, but you sigh in relief as you reach the mouth of the cave. You feel her visibly relax against you too, and feel a swell of pride inside yourself.</p><p>“Ori? You awake, lovergirl?” you call into the darkness of the cave, flashing Secily an apologetic look as your echoing voice earns you a small glare from her. It isn’t long before you hear the slapping noise of Oricka’s bare feet bringing her as fast as she can run along the stone floor of her cave and onto the black sand. </p><p>She stops about ten paces away from you and raises her hand to where you assume her mouth would be behind her helmet. An emoji flashes up on the screen, one of a worried-looking white frog. Monkey S or something?</p><p>“What happened?” she asks, carefully stepping closer, laying her hands on Secily’s shoulder when she’s near enough. Secily groans and turns her head away from Oricka’s bright screen.</p><p>“Oh, she ain’t injured. Just had a bit of a bad time.” You raise your eyebrows at her, and a shoutpole emoji appears on her screen. You’d phoned quickly a few hours ago to let her know about Secily’s meeting and that you’d be hanging around the Stronghold for a bit. </p><p>“Those Corporate bulgesuckers,” she growls, rubbing Secily’s arm soothingly. “what did they do to her?”</p><p>“It’s a bit of a long story, and I don’t know all the deets yet, sugarplum. Maybe we should let her rest up before she tells us about it.” You lean forward a little to speak quietly to your matesprit. “Her moirail’s moving away soon, to boot.”</p><p>“Damn.. you’d better bring her inside, then. I’ll be with you in a sec.” Oricka runs on ahead, presumably to prepare some ways to comfort Secily. Your Ori’s so thoughtful, and it brings a fond smile to your face as you take your time navigating the cave, eventually reaching Oricka’s hive.</p><p>She throws the door open for you before you’ve even climbed the front steps, and ushers the two of you inside. Secily taps your shoulder and murmurs quietly to you that she can stand on her own two feet for now. You nod and place her carefully on the floor, helping her to remove her coat and hang it on the coat stand by the door. </p><p>“This way. I know you like simple comforts and such, so I just put a few blankets and pillows on the couch. What do you think?” Oricka, by now, has taken Secily’s hand and is leading her through to one of the cleaner rooms of the hive. With her helmet now removed, it isn’t hard to see the sheer adoration in Oricka’s gaze as she guides Secily onto the couch, wrapping her up into a little blanket burrito, asking her if she’d like the television on quietly, removing her visor.</p><p>You stand in the doorway feeling a little useless until Oricka ushers you forward, holding your good hand in both of hers as she leans up to peck your cheek. She keeps herself close afterwards, and you know she wants a quick rundown of the situation.</p><p>“She tried to quit her job, but that big boss guy said some emotional blackmail shit about how her matesprit wouldn’t be relevant anymore if she did,” you pause and Oricka nods at you encouragingly “she swung by Mshiri’s place after and got some help from her, but that was kinda screwed up when she said she’d be moving away with her own matesprit in a while. Ses kinda broke down in the truck and I had to soothe her myself. Poor thing, trusting me to do that even if I’m not a pretty gal.”</p><p>Oricka’s fins twitch as she takes in what you told her, and she breathes out heavily from her gills. </p><p>“Sounds like a goddamn bitch of an unsatisfactory situation. What’s she gonna do now?” Both of your gazes settle on Secily, who seems to have dropped into a troubled doze.</p><p>“I dunno. We didn’t discuss that yet. I wanna keep her safe, darlin’. I wanna keep her here for now so she can just take her mind off things. You wouldn’t mind keeping her entertained while I’m out, right?” </p><p>“Course I wouldn’t mind. Secily’s a damn good person, and I’m glad she’s trying to cut her Corporate shackles.” Your respective gazes settle back on each other, and Oricka gives you a warm smile. “I’m gonna grab a movie to have on quietly. Go keep her company, will ya?”</p><p>“Sure,” you nod, and you can’t resist sharing a kiss with Oricka. It’s been a long wice, and you’ve missed her. You remember what Secily told you about bringing up bonding with her. While you don’t think you’ll get around to it currently, it sits in the back of your mind. </p><p>Oricka pulls away from you and makes her way out of the room, and you kick your shoes off by the couch, taking a seat. As your weight makes the furniture dip, Secily cracks one eye open and watches you. You flash her a warm smile and pat her on where you assume her leg is underneath the blanket.</p><p>“You’ll be alright, Ses. You’ve got us now. We’ll fix you up good and proper. Ori’s just gone to pick a film to put on. You don’t mind the background noise, right?” you ask, and as you speak Secily shuffles around to lean against you. You wrap your arm around her and rub her arm.</p><p>“I’ll be fine. Do whatever you want.” she murmurs, closing her eyes again. </p><p>A few moments of silence pass before she slides one of her hands out from under the blanket, hooking her fingers around yours.</p><p>“Thank you, Necron.”</p><p>“No problem, partner. Get some sleep.”</p><p>Your name is NECRON EXMORT, and you don’t know if you can fix Chief Regulator Secily Iopara. But as she rests in your arms, her soft breaths becoming deeper as she drifts off to sleep, you only have one thing on your mind.</p><p>You’re sure as hell going to try.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>